that she will remain out for some time. But Judge Douglas says the
slavery question is settled. He says the bill he introduced into the
Senate of the United States on the 4th day of January, 1854, settled the
slavery question forever! Perhaps he can tell us how that bill settled
the slavery question, for if he is able to settle a question of such
great magnitude he ought to be able to explain the manner in which he
does it. He knows and you know that the question is not settled, and that
his ill-timed experiment to settle it has made it worse than it ever was
before.

And now let me say a few words in regard to Douglas's great hobby of
negro equality. He thinks--he says at least--that the Republican party is
in favor of allowing whites and blacks to intermarry, and that a man
can't be a good Republican unless he is willing to elevate black men to
office and to associate with them on terms of perfect equality. He knows
that we advocate no such doctrines as these, but he cares not how much he
misrepresents us if he can gain a few votes by so doing. To show you what
my opinion of negro equality was in times past, and to prove to you that
I stand on that question where I always stood, I will read you a few
extracts from a speech that was made by me in Peoria in 1854. It was made
in reply to one of Judge Douglas's speeches.

(Mr. Lincoln then read a number of extracts which had the ring of the
true metal. We have rarely heard anything with which we have been more
pleased. And the audience after hearing the extracts read, and comparing
their conservative sentiments with those now advocated by Mr. Lincoln,
testified their approval by loud applause. How any reasonable man can
hear one of Mr. Lincoln's speeches without being converted to
Republicanism is something that we can't account for. Ed.)